Margaret Mori looks forward to seeing the geese when she walks her dog, Midnite, along the percolation ponds near her home in Campbell. The big birds make her smile. She loves the way they swim and waddle around, honking happily.

“I’ve always loved wildlife and nature,” she says. “I take great pride in mentioning that we have those geese here.”

But the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which stores runoff from Los Gatos Creek in the ponds along Winchester Boulevard, isn’t so keen on the honkers. They’re messy, noisy, unwelcome trespassers who foul the water supply with goose poop. They also keep the whole, honking neighborhood awake at night. For the past three years, the district has been trying to evict the flocks before they settle in and start building their nests.

“Basically what we need to do is to make the ponds less hospitable to the geese and encourage them to continue on in their traditional migratory patterns,” district spokeswoman Susan Siravo said.

And how do you get rid of a gaggle of unwanted guests?

Call GooseBusters, of course.

If you’re picturing three wacky scientists with hoses and slime-protection suits, you’ve got the wrong idea about GooseBusters. The firm consists of Jan Scott, a longtime sheep rancher and dog lover, and her hearty band of herd dogs. Back in 1997, the city of Fremont asked her whether her sheepherding dogs could shoo away Lake Elizabeth’s unwanted poop-producing population, and Scott found herself in the goose-busting business. Now she has all the clients she can handle, charging $45 an hour for her services.

Faux predators

Her method, she said, is to introduce “faux predators” into the area so the geese won’t feel safe enough to settle down for good.

“It works,” she said. “It takes a while, but it works.”

When Scott drives up in her Volvo station wagon, her three border collies — Cole, Twist and Quick — are eager to get to work.

“I just start walking and they head out and find them.”

Of course, herding geese is different from herding sheep. For one thing, sheep don’t fly.

“The dogs never actually catch the geese because if they are on the ground they can fly away, and if they’re in the water they can always outswim ’em.”

The water district’s efforts have been welcomed by residents of a nearby apartment complex, where the sidewalks are often spattered with goose poop and the air is lit with the raucous honking that can get on people’s nerves.

But Mori, who has lived in Campbell since 1963, is furious.

“Why can’t they let them stay? After this are they going to go after the cormorants and the magnificent swans?”

Comfy in California

I don’t think the swans and cormorants are in danger, unless they, too, turn into those annoying, messy weekend guests who overstay their welcome.

Canada geese have long been winter residents of the Bay Area. They would fly south to escape those rough Canadian winters, much to the delight of local bird watchers. When our rainy season ended, the creeks dried up and the tender grass turned brown, they’d pack up and head for home.

But like so many visitors to California, they found it harder and harder to leave. California is a nice place to raise kids. And you know what a hassle flying can be these days. Besides, with all the parks offering year-round nibbles and ponds for bathing, why not stay?

Bob Power, executive director of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, said the year-round resident population has exploded, creating issues for people and for other species.

“The geese are fabulous,” he said. “They fly in like the north wind. Then there’s hundreds of them on the golf course, and suddenly everyone’s upset.”

Even if the GooseBusters are successful, Power doubts Mori will have to go very far to see geese.

“They’re going to go somewhere, and they’re not going to migrate, so they’ll probably just find another neighborhood nearby. Like keeping squirrels out of your bird feeder, it’s a never-ending challenge.”